Enumeration of perfect matchings in graphs with reflective symmetry

Abstract

A plane graph is called symmetric if it is invariant under the reflection across some straight line. We prove a result that expresses the number of perfect matchings of a large class of symmetric graphs in terms of the product of the number of matchings of two subgraphs. When the graph is also centrally symmetric, the two subgraphs are isomorphic and we obtain a counterpart of Jockusch's squarishness theorem. As applications of our result, we enumerate the perfect matchings of several families of graphs and we obtain new solutions for the enumeration of two of the ten symmetry classes of plane partitions (namely, transposed complementary and cyclically symmetric, transposed complementary) contained in a given box. Finally, we consider symmetry classes of perfect matchings of the Aztec diamond graph and we solve the previously open problem of enumerating the matchings that are invariant under a rotation by 90 degrees. © 1997 Academic Press.